Covestor Ltd Sells 303 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Covestor Ltd trimmed its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HWC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 155.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.8 %

HWC stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.85. 176,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 490,569. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $32.16 and a 1 year high of $56.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.11. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The firm had revenue of $359.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HWC. Hovde Group raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total transaction of $39,516.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,029.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,755,029.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,058.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.